Paying in Tanzania: Shillings, Dollars and Mobile Money

On 28 March 2025 the Government Gazette published the Regulations on the Use of Foreign Currency, 2025, and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) spelled out their effect in a public notice of 2 May 2025: it is now an offence to quote, advertise or accept payment in foreign currency for local goods and services, or to refuse shillings. For a visitor, that reverses the old habit of carrying a wallet of dollars for hotels, tours and taxis. Dollars have not vanished from the tourist economy, though, and knowing where they still turn up saves both money and arguments.

Can you still pay in US dollars in Tanzania?

For purchases made inside the country, the legal answer since March 2025 is no: the BoT notice says pricing and payment "for all goods and services within the country must be in Tanzanian Shillings". The same notice says the regulations list some transactions that may still be made in foreign currency, but it does not name them, and we could not read the gazetted text itself.

The clearest account of how the rules apply to tourism comes from the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), an industry body. In a post on the government's clarification, TATO reports that a Ministry of Finance letter of 22 May 2025 allows businesses to quote and receive foreign currency for services sold to non-residents across borders, such as packages booked from abroad, while for services used within Tanzania "all prices must be quoted and paid in Tanzanian Shillings (TZS)". In practice, a safari or hotel booked and paid from home may be priced in dollars; what you buy once you are in the country should be priced in shillings.

Where the rule and the ground still differ

Official sources do not all describe the same picture. The UK government's travel advice, updated 17 September 2026, still says "US dollars are widely accepted in tourist areas". The Zanzibar fast-ferry operator's passenger notice, which carries no date, says foreign passengers pay in dollars, with pounds and euros also accepted, while foreign residents with permits pay shillings at the citizen rate. We could not confirm whether that falls under one of the permitted exemptions. For the ferry itself, see our Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar ferry or flight guide.

The gap matters for what you carry. Shillings are the currency the law protects: nobody may lawfully refuse them. Dollars are the fallback for the remaining services that still price visitors in foreign currency.

Where should you change money in Tanzania?

The BoT notice directs foreigners, including tourists, to change foreign currency "through commercial banks or the Bureau de Change in Tanzania". Licensed bureaux work under the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Regulations, 2023 (GN No. 730). Three provisions shape a visitor's experience:

• Regulation 24 requires each bureau to display its buying and selling rates and any other charges, and a notice that you are entitled to an electronic fiscal receipt.
• Regulation 25 requires a receipt for every purchase or sale, showing the amount, the exchange rate used, and the date and time.
• Regulation 30 bars bureaux from selling foreign currency to non-residents unless they show the shillings came from selling foreign currency in Tanzania or from other lawful activity.

That last rule is why the receipt matters. If you plan to turn leftover shillings back into dollars before leaving, the receipt from your original exchange is your proof. The Tanzania Revenue Authority's own slogan, on its homepage, applies to every other purchase too: "Whenever you buy, demand receipt."

The US State Department's Tanzania page adds two border rules: non-residents may not import or export Tanzanian shillings, and foreign currency worth more than US$10,000 must be declared on entry and on exit. You cannot buy shillings at home and bring them in, and you should spend or reconvert them before you fly out.

Shilling prices in practice

The shift is visible in official price lists. Air Tanzania's baggage page charges domestic excess baggage at TZS 8,000 per kilogram, while the ferry operator's rate sheet still shows two tariffs: TZS 40,000 for a resident economy seat and US$35 for a non-resident. At the BoT mean rate for 26 September 2026, US$35 is 35 × 2,646.2347 = about TZS 92,618, so the two prices are not a currency conversion of each other but separate resident and non-resident fares.

To sense-check a shilling bill, divide by the day's rate: a TZS 50,000 restaurant bill is 50,000 ÷ 2,646.2347 = about US$18.89.

Cards, ATMs and mobile money

The BoT notice states that visitors "may also continue making payments using bank cards or other digital payment methods". The UK advice says most banks in major cities have ATMs that take foreign debit cards and dispense shillings, but that machines sometimes break down or run out of cash, and it recommends using ATMs inside bank branches. It also reports widespread cash shortages during the unrest after the 29 October 2025 election, which is a reason to hold a buffer of cash rather than rely on a single withdrawal.

Mobile money is the part of this picture we could not pin down. We could not read official rules on whether short-stay foreigners may open a mobile-money wallet, what identification it takes, or its fees and limits: Vodacom Tanzania's M-Pesa FAQ page did not load, and the telecom regulator's pages did not state them. Ask at an operator's own shop, with your passport, before counting on mobile money.

What money should you carry for each kind of trip?

For national park fees, which have their own payment system, see our guide to Serengeti and Ngorongoro fees.

On arrival, change a first amount at a bank or licensed bureau, keep the receipt, and check whether each business you use has moved to shilling pricing. If a seller insists on dollars for a local purchase, offer shillings at the posted rate; under the 2025 regulations, refusing them is an offence.